© 2026 ABC News

Despite saying talks with the Taliban are now off the table, the president said discussions are ongoing with the Afghan government. The Afghan government said that they welcomed the president’s decision to cancel a meeting with the Taliban, but said they fear it could lead to more violence.

\"Unfortunately, the war will intensify too, but at the rate the Taliban have been dying they cannot last long,\" the Afghans said in a statement.

It's been unclear where the decision to squelch peace talks leaves his longstanding campaign promise to draw down troops. A White House official said the president, who has said he plans to lower the number of troops in Afghanistan down to 8,600, is considering a potential withdrawal plan that does not include a peace deal with the Taliban.

\"We are looking at that, and we are thinking about that,\" Trump said of pulling troops out of Afghanistan. \"We would like to get out, but we will get out at the right time.\"

The president's invitation to host the Taliban at Camp David, the storied presidential retreat in rural Maryland, was met with criticism by Republicans, Democrats, and reportedly, even some of his own senior advisers. The president decided to host the meeting at Camp David after a session a week ago at the White House with national security advisers, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, according to an administration official.

But Trump denied that he rejected advice from Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser John Bolton to not hold the meetings. Instead, Trump took credit for the idea to host the militant group at Camp David and noted it was better to meet there than the White House.

\"No actually, in terms of advisers I took my own advice,\" Trump said. \"I liked the idea of meeting. I've met with a lot of bad people and a lot of good people during the course of the last almost three years.\"

\"There have been plenty of so-called bad people brought up to Camp David for meetings. And the alternative was the White House and you wouldn’t have been happy with that either,\" Trump said.

A spokesperson for the vice president did not deny that he encouraged the president to not meet with the Taliban at Camp David, and said in a statement Pence “reserves his counsel for the President, and anyone claiming to know his thoughts on the matter aside from the President is mistaken.”

The vice president tweeted, \"That’s Absolutely Right Mr. President. More Fake News! The Dishonest Media never contacted our office before running with this story and if they had, we would have told them I FULLY support your decision.\"

That’s Absolutely Right Mr. President. More Fake News! The Dishonest Media never contacted our office before running with this story and if they had, we would have told them I FULLY support your decision. https://t.co/zjzro1fzSg

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) September 9, 2019

Some Republicans breathed a sigh of relief that the talks were called off.

“I think it’s pretty clear the Taliban is not a reliable negotiating party. It wouldn’t have been my choice to have them come to Camp David, particularly now. Hopefully we’ll find a way forward,\" Sen. Mitt Romney said.

“Now, I don't know the details of the meeting with the Taliban, who started it, who was invited, but I do know this: we shouldn't be negotiating with a group that's killing young Americans at the same time,\" said Sen. Joe Kennedy of Louisiana.

ABC News' Conor Finnegan, Jordyn Phelps, and Sarah Kolinovsky contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/president-trump-declares-peace-talks-taliban-dead/story?id=65487974","legacySlug":"/news/story/president-trump-declares-peace-talks-taliban-dead-65487974","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"23:18","publishDate":"09-09-2019","updatedTime":"23:29","updatedDate":"09-09-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"President Donald Trump participates in a briefing about Hurricane Dorian at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Sept. 9, 2019, in Havelock, N.C., aboard Air Force One.","credit":"Evan Vucci/AP","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/president-trump-ap-jef-190909_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/9/2019 23:18:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":65487974,"headline":"Trump declares peace talks with the Taliban 'dead'","mediaAssetTitle":"TRUMP/AFGHANISTAN/TALIBAN","description":"Trump called off a secret meeting with the Taliban over the weekend.","duration":"0:31","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190909_vod_trump_taliban_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132055565","131830882","130993584"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Trump declares peace talks with the Taliban 'dead'","description":"Trump called off a secret meeting with the Taliban over the weekend.","duration":"0:31","uploadDate":"09-09-2019","publication":"09-09-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190909_vod_trump_taliban_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190909_vod_trump_taliban_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/president-trump-declares-peace-talks-taliban-dead-65487974"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Trump declares peace talks with the Taliban 'dead'","pubTime":"19:18","pubDate":"09-09-2019","modTime":"19:29","modDate":"09-09-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":65487974,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Trump declares peace talks with the Taliban 'dead'","mediaAssetTitle":"TRUMP/AFGHANISTAN/TALIBAN","videoId":65487974,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/president-trump-declares-peace-talks-taliban-dead-65487974"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/65487974","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/65487974","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};